The MPAA announced today that, as part of its large-scale anti-piracy campaign, it has begun to take aggressive action against individuals who illegally download and trade movies through the Internet.

The Motion Picture Association of America says it has filed hundreds of lawsuits against people who have obtained or distributed copyrighted material through P2P (peer-to-peer) file-sharing Web sites. It's highly likely that more suits will follow, according to an MPAA representative.

"The MPAA has developed a multi-pronged approach to combat piracy, and we are working to deliver our movies to consumers in new and innovative ways," said Gayle Osterberg, a spokesperson for the MPAA.

"However, when it comes to consumers stealing our product, we also have a very aggressive enforcement aspect to our anti-piracy program. In cases where people are illegally downloading films, there is a great likelihood that they risk being sued at some point down the line."

The MPAA recently shut down over 30 Web sites, after suing the server operators for facilitating illegal file sharing. Many of these sites used Bittorrent technology to allow for faster distribution or transfer of large files, according to an MPAA representative.

MPAA officials acquired the ISP addresses of individuals who were using those file-sharing services to download copyrighted content from the Web site operators, according to a recent news release.

"We are filing suit in the districts where the ISPs are operating from and are working with local organizations to get actual names of users, whom we will contact in an attempt to settle," said Osterberg.

"If they choose to ignore those overtures or refuse to settle with us, we will then move forward with lawsuits against specific individuals."

The MPAA has filed more than 250 individual lawsuits on behalf of the major Hollywood movie studios, as part of its multifaceted approach to fighting piracy, according to the news release.

"Certainly, illegal file sharing is an increasing concern for our industry," said Osterberg. "We estimate for hard goods piracy alone last year, the industry lost about $3.5 billion. Smith Barney carried out a private study to factor in online piracy, and they estimate losses to be in the $5.5 billion range this year."

To combat these losses, the MPAA campaign aims to educate individuals about the consequences of illegal downloading and to use innovative technology to make it easier to acquire movies legally. Additionally the MPAA is taking a proactive stance with worldwide law enforcement officials to crack down on Internet piracy operations, according to the news release.

"Internet movie thieves be warned: You have no friends in the online community when you are engaging in copyright theft," said senior vice president and Worldwide Anti-Piracy Director John G. Malcolm in a company statement.

"The fact that people who engage in illegal activity through torrent sites have now been identified and sued should come as no surprise. People who think they are acting anonymously when engaging in movie theft online are just fooling themselves and will face the consequences of their actions."

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